The Terrific Twos: How we foster children’s development as they grow from toddlers to young children

The most common questions received from parents of two year olds begin the same way – “Do all two year olds….?” or “Is it normal for my two-year-old to be...?” Nearly 100% of the time the answer to any question that begins this way is a resounding yes! Developmentally, two year olds are experiencing many changes both physically and cognitively as their stability strengthens and language blossoms. It is also a crucial time in their social emotional development as they transition from parallel to cooperative play, learn to identify and manage strong feelings, and gain independence in daily tasks. Our skilled and experienced teachers create a classroom environment and strong curriculum that ensures each child will flourish.

Learning to Separate

As a hybrid-model preschool, the Twos is a unique year at York. Many of our children are progressing from our Ones’ program with several new children beginning their school journey with us for the first time. The foundation of our program begins with separation – a key milestone for a two – year old. Whether they are a returning student or it is their first time in a formal school setting, separating from caregivers and attaching to their new classroom teachers can be a challenge.

Separating from a caregiver is a vital step for social-emotional growth as children learn that caregivers always come back. They know they are safe apart from their primary caregivers. Building attachments to their teachers and friends solidifies their understanding that they are separate from their caregivers and able to build secure relationships with others.  Every child successfully moves through the separation process though not all at the same speed or in the same way.  Our Twos’ teachers are experts in observing and anticipating the individual needs of children.

Building Confidence through Executive functioning

By October, nearly all children are successfully  separated and fully settled within the class. This builds children’s confidence which is then continuously fostered through the daily routines and curriculum. For instance, as children enter the classroom, they learn to take off their jackets, place their belongings in their cubbies, and choose their morning center for the day. As the year progresses and children gain more fine motor skills and coordination, they put on and take off their shoes and coats, put away their mats, open their lunches, and complete many other tasks that were previously done by an adult. Each time they complete these tasks on their own, they gain more and more confidence. You will often hear children say, “Look, I put on my coat all by myself!” These are key skills that foster a myriad of developmental milestones and build the foundation for later academic success. Such milestones and skills include:

●        Learning to do things in a sequence

●        Understanding cause and effect

●        Developing motor coordination

●        Following multistep directions

●        Advocating for and attending to one’s own wants and needs

The building blocks for success

Our twos program is designed to foster and form a strong foundation that will continue to be built upon as the children grow and develop. In addition to separation and executive functioning, our program focuses on the key intellectual and physical milestones that are essential for young children. Language and vocabulary acquisition is a large part of our curriculum. At two, the language explosion occurs in children. Teachers embed vocabulary into every activity as possible! Snack and lunch are key times for children to practice conversational skills, sentence structure, syntax, and inquiry. Books are readily available for children to look at on their own or with friends or teachers. Read -a-louds are done formally and informally each day in addition to having Library class with our librarian, twice a week.

 Using an emergent curriculum allows teachers to build in the interests of children. They are then eager to use the language they have to share about those interests. This curricular approach allows children to fully engage with materials and activities being presented in the classroom, helping them to build a love of school. Within their lessons, teachers embed ways for children to gain key numeracy, literacy, creativity, and scientific inquiry skills. They are also constantly helping children navigate the complex social and emotional dynamics that arise throughout the day within a group of young children.

Managing Strong Emotions

At age two, children are beginning to develop a stronger sense of self, including forming their own opinions. This stage of development brings with it a variety of emotions that manifest in many ways as children learn to name their feelings and understand how to manage these new feelings.  Teachers help children move through these feelings, offering them language to communicate their wants and needs, and supporting them in what can feel like uncomfortable emotions. This stage of development, often called, “the terrible twos” is actually extremely vital for children to experience as they learn to express their feelings and emotions in appropriate ways. While it may feel terrible to us when a child is having big feelings of frustration, sadness, or anger, these are all natural emotions that children must learn to manage.

We adults also learn to manage our own feelings when working with children during these times. Our fabulous twos teachers keep their composure and remain patient with each child, learning about what each child needs when they are angry, upset, excited, etc. The language teachers use is extremely important to help children know how to express what they are thinking and feeling. Once children have the language to express their feelings, it helps them communicate to others what they need or want. It also can make the big feelings less scary as they understand that these emotions are normal and won’t last forever. Rather than trying to stop the emotion, we help children identify and move through them. They learn ways of managing feelings of sadness by finding a favorite toy, looking at a picture, sitting with a teacher, etc. If they get frustrated, they learn to ask for a break or find something such as a fidget to squeeze to release any physical needs.

Integrating it all together

Throughout the day in the twos class, children are working on each of these key areas of development. They are developing language, fostering independence, learning to be a part of a group, and gaining physical and intellectual strength. Entering the Twos, they were toddlers, learning to become independent but as they leave, they are young children ready to take on the Threes with confidence and assurance!